I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the freight transportation industry and more particularly to an electronic locking device for controlling access to cargo which has been loaded onto a vehicle.
II. Description of the Related Art
Throughout much of the world today, the primary transportation system used to move goods from one location to another is by tractor-trailer vehicles. Such vehicles provide trucking companies, or carriers as they are known, with the capability and flexibility to transport large amounts of goods to multiple destinations efficiently.
In a typical transaction, a carrier is called upon to transport goods from one location to another by a customer, otherwise known as a shipper. Examples of shippers might include almost any manufacturer of goods. The shipper provides delivery instructions to the carrier comprising details of the shipment, including, for example, when and where to pick up the goods and where to ship them. Generally, these instructions are provided to the carrier and the carrier dispatches a vehicle to transport the goods. The instructions pertaining to the shipment are provided to vehicle operator in the form of a document commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9cbill of ladingxe2x80x9d. The bill of lading may also provide other pertinent information concerning the shipment, such as a description and quantity of the goods being shipped.
The vehicle arrives at the shipper and is loaded with goods in accordance with the bill of lading. After the vehicle has been loaded, the vehicle operator may secure the goods by locking an access door, such as a roll-down door of a trailer. In addition, a seal may be installed proximate to the door to prove that the door was not opened during transit.
When the vehicle arrives at the intended destination, commonly known as a consignee, the trailer door is unlocked and the seal is broken, if these were used by the vehicle operator. The goods are then unloaded and received by the consignee. The consignee will generally sign the bill of lading signifying that the goods were received and also denoting the time and date of the delivery. The signed bill of lading is then generally given to the vehicle operator.
Access to the cargo onboard the vehicle is controlled by a locking mechanism proximate to a cargo door. Present locking mechanisms typically comprise a mechanical lock controlled by a combination or a key. The problem with such locking mechanisms is that they are generally controlled by a vehicle operator. During transit, the vehicle operator may access the goods at any time by simply unlocking the mechanical lock. This makes the goods susceptible to theft by the vehicle operator or by third parties.
What is needed is locking mechanism that is controlled by a third party so that the vehicle operator (and third parties) can not have access to the cargo while in transit. The locking mechanism should allow swift access to the cargo while the vehicle is at a pick-up or destination location.
The present invention is directed to an electronic locking mechanism for locking and unlocking a vehicle door and method for operating same. In one embodiment, the electronic locking mechanism comprises a position location device for determining a vehicle position and a mobile communication terminal for determining an arrival of said vehicle at a destination. The mobile communication terminal further transmits a validation request message to the remote station in response to the arrival and for receiving an unlock message from the remote station if the arrival is validated by the remote station. An indication of the unlock message is provided to the electronic locking device for unlocking the vehicle door.
In another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a method of operating the electronic locking mechanism, comprising the steps of determining an arrival of a vehicle at a destination and transmitting a validation request message to a remote station in response to the arrival. An unlock message is received from the remote station if the arrival is validated by the remote station. An indication of the unlock message is provided to the electronic locking device for unlocking said vehicle door.